Baby Elephant "Turn My Teeth Up" (OUT NOW!)

[busyboy]

This is promising: it could be great, but also a mess since they're not exactly in their prime, IMO...

Prince Paul Forms New Group With P-Funk Member Bernie Worrell

Legendary hip-hop producer, Prince Paul, has formed an unlikely group, Baby Elephant, with two-time Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Famer and keyboard mastermind, Bernie Worrell. As a member of George Clinton’s group, Parliament-Funkadelic, Warroll was influential in shaping West Coast hip-hop, as artists such as Dr. Dre sampled his P-Funk production for his classic album, The Chronic. Now, Worrell is teaming up with Prince Paul, the former Stetsasonic group member who is revered for his work with De La Soul and The Gravediggaz. The two met while Worrell was promoting his documentary, Stranger: Bernie Worrell on Earth. Afterwards, the two musical geniuses hit it off and decided to create a funk/soul album under the pseudonym Baby Elephant. “He’s an accomplished musician and I’m some b-boy cat,” Prince Paul says about the album. “I don’t want people to think it’s like some hip-hop beats over him playing. We’re trying to invent something.” Baby Elephant will be release their debut album, Turn My Teeth Up, on September 15.

[busyboy]

Stereogum feature...

New Baby Elephant (Feat. David Byrne) - "How Does The Brain Wave?"

Prince Paul may no longer be a Handsome Boy (he and Dan the Automator cited irreconcilable differences), but still he's talented and charming enough to attract a slew of notables to his new project: Baby Elephant sees Paul team up with P-Funk legend/de facto Talking Head Bernie Worrell and Newkirk, while filling another grab bag of cameo talent approximating the Modeling School days (including David Byrne, George Clinton, Yellowman, Shock G, Nona Hendryx, DJ Roc Raida, Reggie Watts, Gabby La La, etc.). The expectedly quirky and outrageously funked up set of tunes resulting from the Elephant's sessions parade under the moniker Turn My Teeth Up! (we have no idea what it means, either). The record's advance (and highly recommended) inquisitorial single "How Does The Brain Wave?" sees Worrell re-team with lead Talk-er David Byrne (unmistakable on the track's Heads-y hook melody) for a Moogy, falsetto-fied stomp boogie. Part Talking Heads, part Parliament, all repeat-worthy.

Baby Elephant - "How Does The Brain Wave?" (MP3)

Bernie's making the rounds these days; in addition to the Prince Paul collab, Worrell hooked up with Bootsy to score the Superbad soundtrack. But you were gonna go see it anyway. (Bonus Rogan-pack fun: Andy Milonakis is Judd Rapatow.)

Anyway, back to Baby Elephant -- according to BabySpace, "TURN MY TEETH UP!" is dropping SEPTEMBER 11, 2007 on Godforsaken Music." And it may just have the album art of the year. Finger trunks!

[busyboy]

Prince Paul: Birth Of Baby Elephant

Michael D. Ayers

On a balmy summer night, legendary hip-hop producer Prince Paul is finishing his desert across the table -- a thick, fudge brownie, partially wrapped in cellophane. He casually makes a gesture of, "want some?" Billboard declines, so he turns to one of his closest friends, drummer/keyboardist Don Newkirk, and offers the same. Newkirk obliges, and tears a piece off. It's a small gesture, yet this brief moment speaks volumes of Prince Paul's career: as much as he's done for hip-hop, he's always trying to find ways to give back.

Such is Baby Elephant, an acid funk project Prince Paul started with Newkirk and Parliament/Talking Heads keyboardist Bernie Worrell. The trio spent a year collaborating in the studio on "Turn My Teeth Up!," which will hit shelves Sept. 11 via Godforsaken Music.

In a lot of ways, it's Paul and Newkirk paying homage to Worrell, a long-time idol of theirs. "I wanted to do a different approach to Bernie," Prince Paul says. "The styles he plays, a lot of people don't really notice, from classical, to country, to the funk. That's the approach I wanted to take."

"We also wanted the album to reflect a biography of Bernie's life," Newkirk explains. "We would pitch emotions and concepts to him. Like, 'how'd you feel when you first joined Funkadelic? What did that inspire in you?' And he would come back with musical ideas, and then we would take it and build, and grow with it that way."

Indeed, listening to Baby Elephant sounds biographical. Skits involving Paul and Newkirk as Bernie's disciples are juxtaposed between keyboard-heavy grooves and playful, structured arrangements. The set recalls Worrell's Parliament work, but also combines quicker, sharper rhythms. It's something Paul thinks will have hip-hop heads scratching their domes. "The initial thing we wanted to do was to get away from making a pseudo-funk record. I wanted to take all different styles, and base it with hip-hop beats," Paul explains.

"It started with the idea of Prince Paul making his 'Pet Sounds' and for Bernie to work with someone who was intimately familiar with his work -- someone who could give it a unique interpretation," says Phil Di Fiore, founder of Godforsaken Music. "They made something with these vintage sounds that I think is extremely modern, smart and instantly likeable."

Back around the table, Newkirk takes the last piece of brownie. "You sure?" he asks. "Take it, take it," Prince Paul says. He turns back to Billboard, and deflects the attention back to Worrell. "The main thing to do in this project was to give Bernie direction," Paul reflects of their approach. "Of course, as great as he is, he can go all over the place. But hip-hop heads need some sort of consistency." Newkirk nods his head in agreement, swallowing the last bite.

[busyboy]

Out today in the US!